New Food Labels are Here - What to Look For

New nutrition labels for all the food we purchase will be inplace by July, 2018. The previous labeling laws have been in effect for morethan 20 years, and it’s time for a change. The new labels will be easier toread and will make figuring out calories, serving size and fiber and sugarcontent a lot easier.

Vitamins C and A will no longer be listed on the labelbecause Americans are getting enough of these in their diets. But vitamin D andpotassium are critical elements of which we are not getting enough, so theywill now be shown.  Iron and calcium willremain on the labels.

There will also now be a section labeled Added Sugars. This mightseem confusing, but it means sugars were added during processing. For example,applesauce contains plenty of natural sugar because of the sugar already foundin apples. Still, some brands may add more sugar on top of that. On the newlabel, you will be able to tell what occurs naturally and what has been added.